The Key of Silence
by wih
Summary: What if the Master didn't die? What if Hermits United actually existed? Spoilers for New Who up till end of S3.


Title: **The Key of Silence**  
Author: wihluta  
Fandom: Doctor Who  
Characters: Ten, Jack, Simm!Master, Martha  
Rating: PG 13  
Warning: Character death (bringing one character back to life and killing him off again.)  
Spoilers: New Who up to season 3, Classic Who "The Five Doctors" (Peter Davison, fifth Doctor)

A/N: Many thanks to T'eyla and lanteandrift for the marvelous beta!

T'eyla probably lost more sleep over this fic than I did. Without her poking and nudging, this story would never have turned out as it is.

**The Key of Silence **

"Where are we?" Martha asked as they stepped out of the TARDIS into a rocky valley surrounded by impossibly high mountains, stretching out beyond the horizon.

The Doctor looked around. "Mh. No idea actually. I've never been here before. Looks like fun though." He showed her one of his more maniacal grins. "Let's explore!"

Shaking her head in amusement, Martha followed him.

When they stepped around the TARDIS they suddenly found themselves face to face with a scruffy looking, long bearded man who was staring at them trough narrowed eyes.

"Who the hell are you?" he croaked.

"Uhm," Martha said.

"I'm the Doctor, and this is Martha," the Doctor beamed. "And who are you?"

"Hmpf," the guy huffed, "Magnatius Horenzius Eroxazzoso III."

"Nice to meet you, Mister Magnatius Horenzius Eroxazzoso III."

"Not a Mister. I'm a hermit. And one of the best, if I say so myself." The man straightened himself proudly, puffing out a chest that was even narrower than the Doctor's.

"Oops, sorry," the Doctor said, "A hermit, eh? D'you live around here? Because we were wondering if you could tell us what this place is."

"Do I look like I would live in a place that is as luxurious as this one? I think not. I wouldn't even set foot in this place if it wasn't for the meeting."

Martha looked around. Luxurious? All she could see were rocks, some half dead, scraggily bushes, rocks, a couple of small flowers and even more rocks.

While she was still looking for anything that could marginally count as luxury, the Doctor addressed the hermit again. "A meeting? That's not Hermits United, is it? Accidentally stumbled into one of their meetings once. Lovely little community. There was this one bloke, he had the most marvellous porch in front of his mountain cave-"

"Uh, Doctor," Martha interrupted him, before he really got going.

"Yes?"

"What's Hermits United?" Really, she shouldn't have asked, but curiosity once more got the better of her.

Her question was answered by Magnatius Horenzius Eroxazzoso III. "It's an unincorporated association of the hermits of the Mangnolian Belt. We meet up every decade to discuss philosophical ponderings, food issues and cave decorations. In my opinion the last topic has gotten a little out of hand in the last couple of meetings, but as usual, nobody cares about what I think," he finished off a little grumpily.

"Right." Martha didn't really know how to respond to that.

"So you're off to another meeting now, are you?" the Doctor chimed in excitedly. "Mind if we come along? I've always wanted to meet Ignatius Malignus the Beardy again. Is he still around?"

"You bet he is, 367 years and he simply refuses to call it quits. Must be the air on Darmik. At least that's what Mobiuz keeps saying. And he should know, he's been after that cave for decades." Magnatius Horenzius Eroxazzoso III kept rambling on as they set off towards the far end of the valley.

Martha tried not to grin and leaned over to the Doctor to whisper, "They don't get to talk much in that decade, do they?" She could tell he was trying to hide a grin of his own.

The hermit kept on talking all the way to the neighbouring valley. Taking them through a history of Hermits United, through various feuds and impossible friendships of its members and through a description of his own – and the only acceptable – lifestyle. He kept complaining about how the younger hermits corrupted the good old life-style, when all the food you got was a morsel of dry bread and your only clothes were hand spun from thistles.

After about ten minutes Martha started to drift off and took in the surroundings. It was a bit sparse and lonely up here, not to mention rocky, but once you got past that, it was actually quite a pretty place. There were strange little birds and insects – at least she thought that's what they were – flitting from one small flower or bush to the next. The air was clear and crisp, but not too cold. The sky was so blue, it looked almost green, and a sense of peace hung in the air.

They were halfway through the next valley when Magnatius Horenzius Eroxazzoso III suddenly stopped talking as well as moving and pointed to a cave entrance to their right. "Here we are, friends. The Club-Cave," he said in a voice somewhere between pride and disapproval.

And sure enough, as they approached, another man – decidedly less starved and scruffy-looking than their guide – came out to greet them.

"Hello, dear friends!" he boomed, his arms spread wide in a welcoming gesture. "You are just in time for the first panel: 'How you make sure nobody decides to build their home within a five mile radius of your cave'. Come in, come in. Have yourself a cup of Hotspirits. If you just tell me your names, I can add you to the participants list."

"Wow, they are all a chatty bunch," Martha couldn't resist commenting quietly.

After they'd entered what turned out to be an enormous cave – complete with wall tapestries depicting various scenes of what Martha guessed was hermit history, overhead holes for lighting, crackling fires, stone benches and comfortable beanbags, and even a natural whirlpool in the far corner – their host led them over to a lectern with a big, ancient looking book, and took their names.

While the Doctor carried out most of the conversation, Martha looked around to assess the other hermits. It was quite easy to distinguish the older hermits from the younger ones. Even though they all had long grey beards, their clothes were different both in style and texture. Also, they were clearly divided into two groups, the scrawny looking ones keeping to the stone benches while the others had made themselves comfortable among the beanbags. While she was looking around, her eyes fell on a strangely familiar looking face in the back of the cave. The man was too far away to see clearly, but Martha was sure she'd seen him before. And he seemed to be staring at them with a creepy intensity.

"... we only have a small number of female members, I'm afraid; only five – for some reason most women don't seem to be very keen on the idea of a hermit-like life – but if your companion is interested, there's an all-female workgroup on 'how to weave time ribbons efficiently' that's just started in the left side-cave." Their host waved his arm in the general direction.

"Uhm, I'd rather stay with the Doctor, if it's all the same to you," Martha said, concentrating on the conversation again. A sense of unease was slowly building in her stomach. When she looked around again, the mysterious face in the shadows had vanished, but she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

Something was off, she just knew it. Honestly, she should have known, trips with the Doctor never ended well. But there he'd been, at her apartment door – that same smile on his face that she'd been unable to resist from day one – and she'd agreed to just one more trip.

"Doctor?" she said quietly once they were alone again after their host had ensured them they were free to wander around the cave as they liked. "I think something's off. There was this strange guy watching us earlier, over there from the shadows, and I have a really bad feeling about this."

"Really?" The Doctor seemed unconcerned. "Well, maybe we should be careful. But we should stay at least a bit longer. I mean, come on: Hermits United? You can't resist a treat like that!"

"Alright, but we should keep our eyes open," Martha conceded.

They started to mingle with the – admittedly, not very numerous – crowd. The Doctor was bouncing on his feet, grinning at everyone and asking questions left, right and centre, Martha just followed him smiling at people, nodding answers now and then. She wasn't usually this quiet, but somehow the nagging feeling in her stomach urged her to look around for any signs of mischief, rather than join the small talk.

Her attention focused back on the Doctor, when she overheard someone saying, "...oh yes, we get new members constantly. As a matter of fact, just this year, a junior hermit from Sol 3 arrived."

Sol 3?" Martha looked up at the Doctor who had heard it as well. "But isn't that-"

"Earth, yes. That's strange. Something is off," the Doctor answered in a low tone. His face had gone serious. He stepped up beside the group of hermits whose conversation they had overheard. "Uhm, excuse me, you wouldn't know where we can find this new member, would you? We've been thinking of joining too, and we'd like to know his opinion, as another newcomer,"

"Told ya," Martha murmured.

"Arkadash? Oh, yes, he's right over there, by the whirlpool. The bloke in the light blue robe. You can see him from here." The man pointed.

The Doctor spun around and as his eyes fell on the man the hermit had pointed out, he froze, only for a second, then he was crossing the cave at a speed so fast, Martha could barely keep up with him.

When she reached the two men, they were standing opposite one another, their eyes fixed on each other. The Doctor's face was a mask of shocked disbelief.

"Master...? But... you're dead! I... You died! In my arms. How can you...?" The Doctor gestured wildly. Martha could only stare. She'd known she recognized that face. But - the Master? Impossible!

"Well, well, well, Doctor. Seems like there are still some things you need to learn, yet. One of them is to never underestimate me." The Master grinned, clearly enjoying the situation.

"But _how_?"

"Remember the whole Ring of Rassilon business? Well, once that little adventure with the Lord President was over and your five incarnations had run off, I went back to the Tower and studied the inscriptions. And you know what? There isn't just _one_ Ring of Rassilon, there are two. The one the Lord President took was a fake. The _real_ Ring gives you the power to disintegrate your physical form and store it in the ring. All you need is a faithful servant who knows how to reactivate the molecules and BAM! There you are, all fresh and peachy again. No stupid regenerations necessary any more. What do you say to that?" While he was talking, the Master waggled the fingers of his right hand, so they could clearly see the silvery-green ring on his finger.

There was a long pause and Martha watched the Doctor trying to come to terms with this extraordinary news. She felt like shouting, _what the hell is the Ring of Rassilon? _But of course, there were more important question that needed answering. She'd have bet her monthly income, though, that Rose had been there too.

"But how did you get here?" the Doctor finally asked, quietly. So quietly, it sent chills down Martha's spine. "Even if you survived. You were still stuck on Earth in the 21st century. How did you manage to leave and come here?"

The grin on the Master's face turned – there was no other word for it – positively evil. "I used a TARDIS."

"Impossible." It was only a whisper.

"Alright, let me specify. I used a _piece_ of a TARDIS. _Your_ TARDIS, to be exact."

The Doctors whole body twitched at those words, but he remained silent.

"What? You thought I'd just be happy with a 'locked' TARDIS that I couldn't even use to travel any more once I'd turned it into a paradox machine? You thought I'd planned to just sit on my arse and live the rest of my life on that stupid little planet? _Of course not_!" The Master was slowly circling them as he spoke. "No, I took a piece from the heart of the TARDIS. A teeny tiny piece was all I needed. Small enough that no-one would ever notice it, not even you, should you ever manage to stop me. After Lucy helped me to regain my physical form, I nurtured it. I fed it with every scrap of mercury and Huon energy I could scrape together. I framed and cased it. As soon as it was strong enough I travelled."

"But even with a small piece of TARDIS, it would have taken you years to get here. Without a full-grown and primed TARDIS you can only travel either in space _or_ in time." The Doctor tried to seem calm and business-like, but Martha could tell that he was seething inwardly. She couldn't blame him.

"Five years, exactly. It took me five years and 67 journeys. But I made it. I arrived at my destination. And I used the time I needed to get here to adapt my appearance. I have to say, I'm rather proud of my beard. It looks marvellous. Don't you agree, Doctor?" He stroked his fondly.

"Exchanged the wife for a beard again, did you," the Doctor muttered under his breath, before asking loudly, "But why? Why here, why this place?"

"Because, Doctor, these morons here have the Key." The Master's eyes glinted.

"The key? What key?"

"The Key of Silence. I know they have it. I've heard people talk about it everywhere in the universe. 'The hermits. They know the Key of Silence', people always say. And I am going to get it. I'm going to make it stop. The drumming. The never-ending drumming. I'm going to silence it. And they will tell me how."

The Doctor looked at the Master for a long time, not saying anything. Martha kept quiet too. She really didn't know how to react to this. This was the Master. The man who had enslaved her family, her whole world, and had tried to destroy it. The man who had ordered thousands of people to be killed. Trusting him was as impossible as trusting a shark not to bite you while you were bleeding in the water.

"How do you plan on getting this key?" the Doctor finally asked.

The Master shrugged. "Wait for the leader of the lot to turn up and then ask him politely."

The Doctor just raised his eyebrows.

"Honestly. I'm not planning to start a war or take anyone hostage. I've changed. I want to change. Will you help me, Doctor?" The Master took a step towards the Doctor. "That's what you do, isn't it? Help people? Heal them?" His features, even though they still seemed sly and shifty, did express a certain sincerity. Martha's eyes flitted from the Master's face to the Doctor's, but she returned her gaze immediately as the Master continued, "I want to be healed, Doctor. I want you to help me find the cure."

"I don't think that would be a good idea," the Doctor said quietly

The Master stepped back, quickly, almost as if the Doctor had slapped him. "You don't trust me. Alright, I can see why you wouldn't." The Master turned away and walked a few steps before he looked around again. "Maybe you should go then. Just leave me deal with this on my own."

Martha looked back at the Doctor and saw him swallow convulsively. "We're here," he said. "So we might as well stick around to see how it goes." He raised a finger. "I'm not saying that I'm helping you. I'm just making sure everything stays civil."

"Fine. Suit yourself." The Master turned around and stepped away. They watched him leave.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Martha asked. "I ... really don' think we should trust him."

"I do not trust him." The Doctor wasn't looking at her. "I'm just giving him the benefit of the doubt. If things get fishy, I'll stop him." The Doctor looked serious.

"I just hope it won't take another year, this time." Martha said quietly.

"I hope it won't be necessary at all." The Doctor answered, turning his had to look at her sharply.

During the next hours they kept an eye on the Master while still keeping their distance. The Doctor had lost the bounce in his step and he had fallen silent. It made Martha worry even more.

Finally there was a commotion at the cave entrance and some hermits started shouting greetings. Soon it became clear that the leader of Hermits United had arrived.

Diwang Xin the Older was an...unimpressive sight. Apart from the fact that he looked impossibly old and seemed to consist only of wrinkles, he was just a small and bald man, with a thin white wisp of a beard and clothed in a grey frock that looked like a nightgown. After the greetings were over and everyone had settled down again, Martha and the Doctor watched the Master approach the old hermit. They edged closer, to be able to hear what was being said.

"What do you want to ask of me?" Diwang Xin the Older wheezed.

"I want you to tell me where I can find the Key of Silence," the Master said quietly.

"Excuse me?" The old hermit waggled his head.

"The Key of Silence. Where can I find it?" the Master repeated.

"I'm afraid I don't understand your request."

"Stop stalling. You understand me quite well." The Master's tone grew impatient.

The Doctor stepped forward. "Excuse me," he said, ignoring Martha as she urgently whispered his name. "I don't want to interrupt or anything, but I think you should consider this man's request. You see, he just wants some help-"

"Who are you?" Diwang Xin the Older squinted up at the Doctor. He might have been half a century or older, but his eyes were still sparkling with life.

"I'm the Doctor. I'm an old... uhm, acquaintance of his"

"And you are sure you want me to tell him where to find the Key of Silence?" Diwang Xin the Older interrupted him. He started in his wheezy old-man's voice, but the last three words he spoke with such clarity, they reverberated through the whole cave.

Everything went dead silent.

"Uhm, are there any valid reasons why you shouldn't?" the Doctor replied, keeping his eyes fixed on the old man.

He just waggled his head once more and then said, "I'm afraid I can't do that. And I'm afraid I can't let you leave either. You will stay under our supervision until we have decided what should happen to you."

"What? Why? Hey! We haven't done anything wrong," the Doctor protested hurriedly. Hermits were closing in on the three of them from all sides. They were looking a lot less friendly than before. "Oh, come on, it was a simple request, and reasonable enough. What's so secret about this Key? I mean, if it could actually help him-" Martha could see two hermits gripping the Doctor and at the same moment she felt hands closing around her own upper arms. The same happened to the Master. "Wait! Where are you taking us? Let's talk about this!" the Doctor yelled as they were escorted away from Diwang Xin the Older towards the back of the cave.

"This is just great," the Doctor spat, pacing around the cell they had been locked up in. "So, anything you want to tell me, Master?"

"Me?" the Master said his face the perfect picture of innocence. "What makes you think I know what's going on. I just came here to ask for the Key. How was I supposed to know they'd react like this?"

The Doctor glared at him. "You said it would help you," he said accusingly.

"That's what I was told! I don't know anything else about it. I swear." The Master raised both his hands. He looked hurt. "You really don't trust me?"

"No, I don't. But that doesn't matter right now. We need to get out of here."

The Doctor started rummaging through his pockets. "Where is... ah, got it. Ha!" He pulled his hand out and held up his sonic screwdriver.

The Master rolled his eyes. "And what good will that thing do?"

"I'm going to use it to loosen the hinges of the door. The lock's a deadlock, we'll never break that, but we might get lucky with the hinges. Once they're out, we will be able to open the door and get out of here. Or do you have a better plan?" the Doctor asked tetchily.

"I would have, if someone hadn't destroyed my laser screwdriver."

The Doctor ignored the remark and went to work. Martha stood near him, watching him work, while keeping an eye on the Master, who had sunk down onto the mattress in the corner and was idly pulling out bits of straw. She had a feeling that this was going to be a long night.

She'd grown tired of watching the Doctor fiddle around the door after an hour and had started looking around their cell, when there was a blinding flash of light that made her cover her eyes, and a figure appeared right beside her. With a yelp, she jumped backwards and then took a closer look.

"Jack?" she said incredulously.

The Doctor turned around. His eyes widened. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

"What the..." Jack said and stared at the Doctor. "Doctor?"

"Why yes, of course. Don't tell me this is a coincidence."

"Well, actually... I was..." Jack waved his hands. "Where the hell am I?" he spluttered. Then he swayed a little and went cross-eyed.

Martha jumped forward to steady him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He grinned toothily at her. "Just a little residual disorientation from travelling via Tracker."

Martha shook her head. "Travelling with what?"

Jack held up a small, oblong, silvery-black device. "That's a Tracker. The Time Agency used them to track down time-offenders. All you need is a bit of the subjects DNA to identify the target and off it goes. Works through time and space. Useful little gadget." He studied the device, shook it a little and then muttered, "Damn, batteries are empty. This must have been one hell of a journey."

"But how did you do it?" the Doctor said. "You don't have parts of my DNA any more. Please don't tell me you have a secret stash of my hair and fingernail-clippings hidden somewhere. And more importantly, why are you here? And even more importantly, how did you get your hands on that Tracker?"

Jack showed some teeth again and held up a placating hand. "I was just about to explain. The Tracker got washed up through the Rift. We found it. Finally something useful, I can't tell you how pleased I was. And I didn't use _your_ DNA. I wasn't even trying to find you. I was looking for Martha."

"Me? Why?" Martha asked, surprised.

"Coming to that... I thought you where somewhere in London or thereabouts," he continued, now directing himself at Martha. "I thought finding you with the Tracker was a good way to test it. See if it still worked. How should I have known you're back with him? Last time we talked you said you were gonna finish your studies," Jack finished somewhat accusingly.

"He came by to ask me on a holiday trip. Just that one trip," Martha said sheepishly. "Don't tell me you'd have said no."

"Yeah, well... in that case-"

"Wait a second!" the Doctor interrupted. "Why do you have samples of Martha's DNA?"

Jack and Martha exchanged a quick glance and Martha raised her eyebrows.

"Uhm, I still have that comb she l-lent me a while ago..." Jack said lamely.

"Oh, yeah," Martha added.

The Doctor stared at both of them, hard, before apparently deciding that this explanation was good enough for now. "Why did you want to find her?" he asked Jack.

"Ah, that, yes. I was gonna ask her to join Torchwood. See, one of my team had to resign – personal reasons – and now we're short a medical specialist." He turned to Martha. "You interested?"

Martha looked sceptical. "I don't know. I mean, I'll need some specifics on what the job entails, before I can make a decision," she stalled, even though she knew the answer would most certainly be yes.

"Excuse me!" the Doctor interrupted. "But can we talk about salaries and holiday times later and focus on getting out of here first?"

"Right," Martha said.

"Where are we, anyway?" Jack asked. The Master, who had sat up when Jack had appeared and had been watching the exchange with a small smirk on his lips, took this as an opportunity to leave his resting place in the dark corner of the cell and saunter over to them.

"Hello there, Captain," he said.

"What the hell?" Jack exclaimed, jumping backwards.

The Master grinned and waved his hand.

The Doctor quickly explained the situation.

"So, you're still alive after all," Jack commented, once he was up to speed.

"Yes. Miss me?"

"Can't say I did."

"Awww." The Master pursed his lips. He then turned around and flopped down onto the mattress again.

"So, Jack, you got something that might be of any help getting us out of here?" the Doctor interrupted, in a tone that suggested he rather doubted getting a positive answer to his question.

"Let me think about that for a minute," Jack said.

"Well, while you do some thinking, I'm going to go back to loosening those hinges." The Doctor returned his attention back his task.

Jack leaned over to Martha and asked quietly, "How's he taking it?"

Martha pulled a face. "He's been even edgier than usual since he found out, but it's always hard to tell with him. I don't think he's taking it too well."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I figured. I don't know what I would do if it were me."

"Had any brilliant ideas yet?" the Doctor shouted over his shoulders.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Jack answered calmly. "How about we use this?" He pulled his gun out of the holster and waved it in the air.

"Uh, no," the Doctor said disapprovingly, "too noisy. We're trying to escape without getting noticed, remember?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but that's all I have." Jack grumbled.

The Doctor gave a small, not very amused sounding snort and returned to his work and they all waited in silence.

"Ha! Got it!"

The sudden exclamation made Martha jump. She had no idea how long they'd been in that cell, but it must have been at least a couple of hours.

"You got the hinges loosened?" Jack asked. The Master appeared at their side.

"Yep, time to go."

They carefully pushed the door open and peered out into the passage.

"Right, which way?" Jack whispered, holding his gun at the ready.

The Doctor reached out and made Jack lower the gun. "We're not here to hurt anyone. All we want is to get out of here and back to the TARDIS. There we can figure out what to do next."

"You want to leave?" the Master asked. "But I haven't gotten the Key yet. I need that Key. I thought you were going to help me."

"I think it's pretty obvious that we're not going to get them to give us this Key," Martha opined.

"Oh, what do you know?" the Master snapped. "Do you have any idea what this Key means to me? Doctor, I need that Key."

"Why don't we just steal it?" Jack asked casually.

The Doctor looked offended. "We're not thieves."

"Imagine the good it could do," the Master purred.

"I think we should go." Martha tried to convince them again.

"If you won't help me, I'm doing it alone," the Master said and made to walk away.

The Doctor opened his mouth, closed it again and slid his hands in his pants pockets. "We can't just leave him here unsupervised. Who knows what he'll do," he finally said, clearly unhappy.

Martha sighed. He did have a point.

Jack shrugged. "I'm going where you're going. If only because you're my ticket out of here. And I'm not having you run away without me again," he said.

They ended up following the Master back towards the main cave.

"Wait," the Doctor whispered, catching the Master by the arm. They had reached the entrance to the main cave and the Master had turned left, starting to edge along the walls, keeping to the shadows. "The entrance is that way."

"I'm not heading for the entrance," the Master whispered back, an edge to his voice. "I'm going to get the Key."

"We really should get out of here and talk about this." The Doctor was almost pleading.

"Do as you like." The Master pulled his arm out of the Doctor's grip and started moving again.

The Doctor let out a groan and turned back towards Jack and Martha. "What do we do now?" he asked, still whispering. The lights in the cave had been dimmed down and they could hear faint sounds of snoring. Apparently it was night time - their best chance to escape unobserved. But Martha could tell that the Doctor wanted to go after the Master. She shrugged. "Whatever you think is best," she whispered back. Jack nodded.

While they had been talking the Master had moved on, and turning around again, they realized they had lost him in the dim darkness of the cave. The Doctor swore under his breath and set off along the way the Master had taken, Jack and Martha trailing behind.

They hadn't been walking for long when they heard a commotion towards the left. Suddenly, flames flared and a fire flickered brightly, illuminating the Master who was holding Diwang Xin the Older to his chest, one arm wrapped around his throat, pointing something at the hermit's head with the other hand.

"Crap," Martha swore, and then they quickly set off towards the scene. Around them, hermits were stirring, woken up by the noise and the sudden light.

"Master!" the Doctor shouted, stopping short a few steps away from where the Master was holding the old hermit hostage.

The Master grinned wickedly. "Stay away Doctor. I have no qualms about using this if I have to, you know that." The Master waved the object in his hand. Martha realized with horror that it was the laser screwdriver.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor asked, breathless.

"Getting what I came for. Now," he redirected his words at the hermits surrounding them, "you will tell me where I can find the Key of Silence, or I'll kill the old geezer and then, I'll kill the rest of you."

"They won't tell you," Diwang Xin the Older said quietly.

"Oh, I think they will. They just need the right sort of incentive." He grinned maniacally. "What about this?" He pointed his screwdriver towards the right side of the cave and pressed the button.

The next moment, everything happened at once. The Doctor was yelling "DOWN!" Someone was grabbing Martha roughly around the neck and pushing her down to the ground. There was a blast and a flash of light, then the part of the cave that contained the swimming pool blew up, showering them in a rain of water, rocks and mud.

"Now!" the Master yelled once the sound of the explosion had echoed away. "Anyone want to talk?"

Martha slowly straightened up and looked around. The explosion had been on the far side of the cave, but it had held such a force that it had carried stones and rocks like bullets to where they were standing. The hermits that had been nearest to the explosion were kneeling or lying on the ground, moaning with pain and holding their injuries. Martha's medical training made her spring into action. She started making her way through the crowd, trying to reach the wounded, to see if there was something she could do. A hand grabbed her by the elbow and held her back. "No," Jack rasped, coughing from the dust, "You gotta stay here."

"I have to help," Martha protested.

"We need to stay together," Jack said urgently.

Martha conceded, albeit reluctantly, and turned around to look for the Doctor, finally spotting him already back on his feet and facing the Master, his expression furious.

"So, you're still the same madman you were before." he said, seething.

"Did you think I'd changed? Aw, how adorable. I suspected all along I might have to do something big to convince them to help me. So I planted some bombs. There are three more hidden around this cave," he waved a hand, "And don't even try to find them. You won't and even if you do, I'll blow them up before you can do anything about them." Martha could tell that he was dead serious. The Doctor pressed his lips together to a thin line, but he didn't move.

"Now, I'm asking again," the Master shouted, "Anyone willing to tell me how to get this Key?" He looked around. "Or do I need to blow up another bomb? Think about it. You might be standing right on top of it."

"Don't listen to him!" the Doctor suddenly shouted. "Get out of here! Go on. _Move_!"

People started running towards the exit.

"Oh no, you won't," the Master said, pointed his screwdriver and pressed a button again. Another explosion rang through the cave, this one right at the cave's main entrance. The ceiling collapsed and blocked the way out. This time, the first row of hermits had been too close to the explosion. Some of them were blown into the air and fell down to earth, their limbs shattered, dead.

The Doctor spun around to the Master frantically. "Stop this!" he yelled his teeth bared.

"As soon as I get what I want," the Master answered calmly. He was still holding the Diwang Xin the Older around the neck. "Anyone?" he shouted into the panicked crowd.

"For god's sake, tell him!" someone yelled. "Just tell him what he wants to know!"

"No!" someone else shouted back. "We mustn't!"

"I don't want to die here! I've got nothing to do with this," a third hermit exclaimed. Panic was spreading quickly amongst them.

"Master, please!" the Doctor said urgently. "Stop this!"

A steely "No." was his answer, before the Master said to the old hermit. "Will you tell me now? Or do I have to kill all of them before you give in?"

Diwang Xin the Older slowly shook his head, and the Master was raising his screwdriver again, when suddenly, a man stepped forward, away from the crowd.

" The key's location is a secret, kept only by the oldest hermit. The map to its whereabouts is kept on his person at all times, in the pouch that hangs around his neck. It will show you the way through the tunnel labyrinth," the man, a tall black-bearded hermit said, pointing at the small pouch hanging on a piece of string around Diwang Xin the Older's neck. There was a collective gasp, and then silence fell.

"Is that so?" the Master finally asked, looking over the shoulder of the old man at the small bag.

"Mobiuz, you traitor," someone whispered audibly.

"If you want, I can go with you. Help you to read the map and open the entrance to the Key Chamber. It's deep, deep down in the heart of the planet."

"No! You won't!" one of the hermits yelled and leapt forward to physically stop Mobiuz from speaking.

"Out of the way," the Master snarled and pointed the screwdriver at the hermit's back.

With a surge of horror Martha realized that it was Magnatius Horenzius Eroxazzoso III. He let out a scream as the laser beam hit him and then slumped to the floor, unmoving. Martha lurched forward and bent down to check his pulse.

"He's... dead," she gasped.

The Doctor's face was a furious mask. He made to jump at the Master, but was stopped short in his tracks as the point of the screwdriver was aimed at Martha.

"You want me to deal with her next? I will kill her," the Master threatened. Martha froze, horrified.

"You will pay for this," the Doctor hissed between gritted teeth.

"I don't think so." The Master reached for the pouch and ripped it from the old man's neck, before he pushed him to the floor. Then he turned towards Mobiuz. "Time to go. You lead the way."

He turned to the crowd of hermits, who were watching his every move, petrified. "Anyone who tries to follow us will be killed. And if I hear so much as a footstep behind me, I will set off the other two bombs and collapse this cave." He directed a sharp look at the Doctor and his companions.

Then he turned around and strode off, following the traitor Mobiuz.

"Diwang Xin, is there any way we can get to the Key before him?" the Doctor asked, helping the old man to his feet.

Diwang Xin the Older shook his head. "There is only one way," he said.

"What is this Key, anyway?" the Doctor asked immediately, his mind obviously racing through their possible options. "I mean, I don't believe that the Master would act like that just to reach inner peace and silence."

"Inner peace and silence?" the old hermit repeated, "No, definitely not. The Key of Silence holds the innermost secrets of the universe. It offers you power. The Power of the Gods, if you will. The one who holds the Key in his hands has the power to change the universe at his will. Change it, or destroy it. If that man reaches the Key Chamber, he will be able to change the universe according to his own plans, or destroy everything."

"Oh no..." Martha felt a cold wave of fear run through her.

"I'll have to go after him," the Doctor said determinately. "Stop him from reaching that Chamber." He stepped away to follow the Master.

"No," Diwang Xin the Older stopped him. "There is nothing you can do down there. And you would never find the way on your own. But I might find a way to stop him. I know the way to the Chamber by heart. I might not succeed, though. If I fail, someone will have to destroy this planet, before the Master can start his work." He looked earnestly into the Doctor's face.

The Doctor stared at him, abject terror in his eyes. "I... I couldn't... all these people here..." He shook his head and took a deep breath. "And I'd have to get to my ship first. There's no way out of here..." He looked around again like he was lost, and Martha found that seeing him this helpless scared her more than the explosion had. "We should go after him together. We'll find a way-"

"No, you must not go there. We will do it as I say, or we will all die. Not just us, but everyone. Everything." Diwang Xin the Older said gravely. "And as for getting to your ship – there is a tunnel, it was build for emergencies. It will lead you outside. From there you can get back to your ship. It will take me about an our to reach the Chamber. If you don't hear back from me, you shouldn't wait much longer than this."

"But what about everyone else?" Jack asked.

"They will have to follow you outside and leave this planet as fast as they can. We hermits have a way to travel to and from our home to this place, without any outside help. There should be enough time for everyone to get away safely. Let's hope I will succeed." Diwang Xin the Older raised himself up to his full height. "It is time. Junos Margia will show you the way." He waved a youngish looking hermit forward. "Lead them all outside and tell them to leave as soon as they can," he ordered. Then he turned back to the Doctor. "Goodbye Doctor. I wish you luck."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said quietly. "I didn't know. I should never-"

Diwang Xin the Older interrupted him with a raised hand. "It is no good to cry over spilled soup," he said, "All you can do is get a cloth and clean up the mess."

The Doctor nodded.

It took them about half an hour to get out of the caves and to the TARDIS, which was still standing were they had left her. Overhead the stars shone peacefully. There was not a cloud in the sky. All around them hermits spread out, walking to their departure points.

"I wonder how they do it, the travelling?" Jack murmured, watching one disappear into thin air.

"You'll have to become a hermit to find out," the Doctor said distractedly, unlocking the TARDIS door.

Once inside, he went to the console and powered up the TARDIS. They had decided to fly up into orbit around the planet and wait for two hours, to see if they heard anything from Diwang Xin the Older. He'd never said how, but they trusted that he would find a way.

Martha settled into the Captain's chair, while Jack lounged against the railing and the Doctor played with the TARDIS consoles, his mind evidently miles away.

Time passed slowly.

"You have to destroy the planet." Jack said, gravely. The two hours had long passed and they had heard nothing from Diwang Xin the Older.

The Doctor froze where he was still standing at the console.

"You'll have to do it."

Martha looked up at Jack as he raised his voice, and then looked around at the Doctor who still wasn't moving.

Jack took a few steps towards him, and Martha looked back at the Captain. She could see him run his tongue over his lips before he spoke again. "It's been easily two hours. The old hermit failed. You'll have to destroy the planet."

The Doctor finally turned around, and Martha could see the abject horror in his eyes as he looked at Jack.

"I can't," he said, his voice choked.

Jack took another step towards him. "You have to." He and the Doctor locked eyes and didn't move for a long moment. Martha could practically see the struggle of will between them. "You _have_ to," Jack repeated.

The Doctor's mouth opened, but no sound came out. The next few seconds were filled with the worst silence of Martha's life. Asking the Doctor to kill the last existing member of his race apart from him. They could just as well ask him to cut one of his hearts out. Martha had seen the Doctor after the Master had died the first time. It had nearly broken him.

Jack never turned his eyes away, fixing the Doctors eyes with his own. Willing him to do what was necessary. Martha hated him for it. She hated herself for not stopping him. Hated all of them for not being able to find a different solution. Most of all she hated the Master.

Finally, a wall seemed to go up around the Doctor, an armour sliding into place, and the Doctor broke eye contact, turning to the TARDIS console. Martha watched him as he began pushing buttons and pulling levers with a brutal, mechanic efficiency. His movements got quicker as the glass tube above the console began to glow, and the TARDIS started to shake, gathering all her immense power to strike and destroy.

Martha watched Jack back away slowly, pressing his back against a pillar and holding on, his eyes on the Doctor who was still in motion, moving with such certainty that he almost seemed to have become one with his ship. She herself held onto the railing with a death grip, as if this might save them all. She heard a hum start in the innermost centre of the TARDIS that soon turned into a growl, and the glow of the glass tube intensified, only to finally explode in a spectrum of blinding colours.

Martha covered her eyes, trying to keep her balance as the TARDIS lurched, the growl turning into a scream as the ship expelled the radiation wave and destroyed the entire planet below, together with every living soul that was still on it.

Silence followed.

Martha lowered her hands and looked up. The movements of the ship had ceased, and so had the glow of the glass tube. Everything was still and silent. Jack was still standing with his back pressed against the pillar, unmoving.

The Doctor was standing next to the console, his long slender fingers resting on its edge. He was completely still as well, his eyes resting on the scanner. His face was devoid of any expression.

Jack took a hesitant step towards him and reached out, but as the Doctor turned his head to look at him, his movements faltered. Martha didn't dare breathe or move. She felt frozen.

The Doctor's eyes were empty, without any expression or emotion. A stone statue's eyes.

Jack opened his mouth, but he did not speak. For a moment, neither of them moved; then the Doctor turned away. He pressed a button on the scanner's frame that made the screen go blank, and then he turned around and walked away, out of the TARDIS' control room, leaving Jack and Martha where they were.

Martha watched the Doctor leave with a hollow feeling in her stomach. Her hands were still clenched around the railing, but she was barely aware of it, memories playing in her mind.

The Doctor, kneeling on the floor of the Valiant, cradling the lifeless form of the Master, rocking him back and forth and crying helplessly.

None of them had stepped forward then. None of them had tried to comfort him. None of them had known how to. They'd just stood there and watched the Doctor grieve, not daring to interrupt a pain they couldn't even begin to comprehend.

And now, the same had happened again, but this time, the Doctor hadn't broken down. This time, there had been no reaction at all and somehow, this was even more frightening, that seeing him crying on the Valiant.

The Doctor was always so full of emotion. Everything he felt showing clearly on his face. Excitement, anger, grief – you could always read it, right there on his face. But not this time. When he'd looked at her for a moment before he'd left, there had been nothing. Just blankness.

It made her want to curl up and cry like a child.

She had no idea how long she'd stood there, staring after him, before she caught herself and turned to look at Jack. He looked as desperate as she felt.

When their eyes met, Jack went over to her with a few quick strides and pulled her into an embrace. Martha leaned against him, buried her head into his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his middle. They stood like that for a long time, not talking, giving and taking comfort in one another.

Martha wished it were that easy with the Doctor.

"Do you think we should go after him?" she asked when she eventually pulled away.

Jack shook his head slowly, not in negation, but more unsure. "I don't know," he said. She could see her own uncertainty and fear reflected in his eyes.

"Maybe I should go after him," Martha said, looking in the direction where the Doctor had gone. "Or you. Maybe you should."

When he frowned, she explained, "Of all the people in the universe, you are the only one who can at least begin to understand how he must feel." She didn't look at him as she spoke, but she spoke resolutely.

Jack shook his head. "No, I don't think it compares-"

"I'm not saying you're the same," she said quickly, looking up at him. "I just... you're immortal, and you've lost people you loved..." She trailed off helplessly.

Jack turned his head away. "I'm-" He broke off.

Martha nodded. She couldn't blame him. She herself had no idea how to comfort the Doctor in this. If he even wanted comfort. But there was that nagging feeling inside her that told her to go and try to help. Or have someone help, if she herself couldn't.

"Never mind," she said and shook her head. "I- I don't know. Maybe it's best- "

Jack licked his lips and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll- I'll see if I can find him." He let his hands drop and exhaled, then looked back at Martha. "You're right, one of us probably should."

Martha smiled weekly. "Thank you."

Epilogue

The Doctor didn't know or care where he was going. It didn't matter. Nothing did, really. Now that he was thinking about it, he wondered why he'd always thought otherwise. No matter what he did or didn't do, they all ended up dead. And he was alone again.

Alone and running away. Over and over and over.

Somehow he ended up sitting on a chair in one of the recreation areas. He cradled his head in his hands, staring unseeingly at the floor wishing he could just stop it all. He was so tired. So damn tired of losing people. So damn tired of being alone.

When he looked up, he saw Jack standing in the doorway and looking at him, uncertainty painted on his features. He looked down again.

"Go away, Jack."

"It was the only possible way," Jack said quietly after a moment. He wasn't moving.

"I said, go away."

"No." There was a pause. "I'm sorry," Jack continued, his voice still uncharacteristically quiet.

The Doctor interlaced his fingers, his elbows resting on his knees. "You shouldn't be," he said. "It wasn't your fault."

"No," Jack agreed. "It wasn't. I'm still sorry, though."

The Doctor looked up again, but before he could answer, Jack spoke again. "You're not alone, you know. I'm here right now. And Martha too-"

"You don't get it," the Doctor said tiredly, interrupting him. "I am alone. I'm the last of my kind. There's no one left but me."

"You did what was necessary to save the universe."

The Doctor laughed bitterly. "What do you know about it?"

Jack opened his mouth to say something but the Doctor cut him off before he could even start. "I can kill an entire race. I can destroy a whole planet, just by pressing a few buttons. And no one can stop me. What do you think that makes me, Jack? A hero?"

He stood up, glaring at Jack. Anger suddenly burning in his chest. Anger at Jack for making him destroy this planet. Anger at himself for not being able to find another solution. Anger at the universe for never giving him a choice. But anger was good. Anger he could deal with. " You have no idea, Jack. You're just a stupid human who'd had the misfortune to get into the way of bigger things. You know nothing."

He could see his own anger reflected in Jacks eyes, then. He held his gaze.

Jack stared at him. "Oh, you're just so full of yourself!" He yelled back suddenly. "Mister 'high and mighty Time Lord'. Did it ever occur to you that we stupid, ordinary people might have something to offer beyond being an amusing time filler?"

The Doctor turned around again. "I never asked you to come with me. I don't need your pity. I don't need anyone's pity. I'm just fine one my own," he shouted. Yes, he was fine. Always fine. And if he was alone, then at least he couldn't get attached to another person and kill them too.

He couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to be...

He stormed past Jack, out the door, going nowhere. But a hand roughly gripped his arm, stopping him in his tracks and spinning him around.

"You think I pity you? You think any of your companions travelled with you out of pity?" Jack shook his head, disbelief obvious in his gesture. "I can't speak for the others, but I certainly don't pity you," he went on seriously, looking into the Doctor's eyes.

The Doctor held his gaze for a moment, then lowered his head.

Jack loosened his grip. "You're not alone," he said quietly. "I won't leave you. I couldn't, even if I wanted to."

The Doctor didn't move. He just stood there, in front of Jack, not looking at him. He wanted to shout at Jack. Wanted to hit him. Wanted to hold him close and never let go.

But he couldn't. Instead he stood there, frozen. Still feeling so alone. His hearts aching with the pain of the pointlessness of it all.

Then Jack stepped closer and pulled him into an embrace.

For a moment the Doctor stiffened, every muscle locked, screaming at him to pull away. But then the tension bled out of him and he leaned against Jack; letting Jack wrap his arms around him and hold him.

"It's going to be alright," Jack whispered.

The Doctor buried his face into Jack's shoulder and something inside him loosened. He could feel his shoulders starting to shake as he grabbed a handful of Jack's shirt and held on tight.

There was nothing more he could say. All he could do was hold on and hope against his better judgement, that maybe next time, Time would show them some mercy.

The End.


End file.
